A warm hello, dear friends!

With Easter just around the corner, I have a very special treat to share with you. One of my favourite Canadian brands, Camino, is back with new festive treats for Easter-chocolate eggs! Chocolate eggs just so happen to be one of my all-time favourite Easter treats too, woo-hoo!

I was very excited when Camino announced the launch of their first-ever chocolate eggs. It is so lovely to see Camino creating new, festive-themed chocolate products and giving customers quality sweet treats for special occasions.

This news is even sweeter because they outdid themselves with not 1 or 2 but 3 types of chocolate eggs! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate eggs are all filled with yummy caramelized hazelnut praline!

I was beyond thrilled when they kindly gifted me these chocolate eggs to review and share with all of you. So, a big thank you again to Camino for this wonderful opportunity! If you would like to try out these chocolate eggs or learn more about Camino check out their website or read about them in my previous post here. 

I will be breaking down this review into a few different categories with different aspects of the 3 chocolate eggs.

• Packaging Design

• Taste, Flavour & Texture

• Final Verdict

All 3 chocolate eggs are gluten-free*, certified organic, and certified fairtrade.

C’mon, let’s try out these unique chocolate eggs!

* These products do not contain gluten, but to learn more about the ingredients and if these products are right for you, please check the Camino website for more information. 

REVIEW

PACKAGING DESIGN  

The packaging of the chocolate eggs is adorable! The light and airy pastel colour palette and illustration capture the look and feel of Easter and Spring. And of course, beautiful images of all three chocolate eggs flavours are displayed in all their glory.

These cuties are encased with yellow, green, and dark green foil wrappers, giving them a bright, joyous Spring and festive feel—so fresh and pretty. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the package the eggs are quite big! I thought they would be smaller like traditional mini chocolate eggs, but these are a great size. 

Now let’s talk about the most awaited part of this review, how they taste!

DARK CHOCOLATE EGGS

TASTE, FLAVOUR & TEXTURE

The dark chocolate eggs have a lovely, delicate coating of bittersweet chocolate, enrobing a creamy milk chocolate centre. Once you hit the velvety filling, the feel and taste of the sprinkling of hazelnut praline comes through. The earthiness of the dark chocolate seems to enhance the nutty notes of hazelnut praline. The contrast between the dark and milk chocolate along with the hazelnut praline creates a harmonious blend of flavours and texture. 

MILK CHOCOLATE EGGS

TASTE, FLAVOUR & TEXTURE

The milk chocolate eggs are just oh so dreamy and creamy. Its luscious milk chocolate coating and milk chocolate center, scattered with hazelnut praline, creates a blissful bite. The nuttiness of hazelnut praline is a bit more mellow because of the creamy, richness of the milk chocolate, but is very well balanced in taste and texture. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE EGGS

TASTE, FLAVOUR & TEXTURE

These white chocolate eggs are such a tasty bite of white chocolatey goodness. The silky-smooth shell, paired with the hazelnut praline filling, creates a pleasant medley of flavours with its nuttiness and chocolate notes. They are also the perfect level of sweetness, which is no easy feat (white chocolate has the tendency to be on the sweeter side).

FINAL VERDICT

All 3 flavours of the chocolate eggs are delightful! I really love how none of them were overly sweet. Instead, you are greeted with the same, well-balanced lusciousness from the chocolate and crunch from hazelnut praline filling in every single egg. I immensely enjoy how each chocolate flavour, paired with the hazelnut praline, creates its own unique taste experience.

Another nice touch is the texture of the chocolate eggs’ outer shells. They have an embossed shell-like texture. Not only is it visually lovely, but it also gives the eggs their own unique look, which I quite appreciate. 

Kudos to Camino for creating these next-level chocolate eggs. They are like no other I have ever tried. And let me tell you, I have tried my fair share over the years. However, I have never had one with a nutty crunch filling in the center like these ones and in different types of chocolate flavours. 

As far as selecting a favourite, I honestly don’t think I can pick one this time around. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them equally, especially because each had its own individual taste experience. 

SWEET TREAT FOR EASTER

These chocolate eggs are the perfect sweet treat for Easter and great for Easter egg hunts for kids, a gift for family, friends, or even a sweet treat for yourself ;). So, give them a try, and have some delightful chocolate eggs to celebrate Easter or Springtime :).

Enjoy!

The post Camino’s New Chocolate Eggs – Review first appeared on Pure Sprinkles.

A warm hello, dear friends!

I have a special treat for all of you to kick off the holiday season! I’ll give you a quick hint. It’s something sweet and festive. Any guesses? Well, if you guessed chocolate *ding ding ding* you are correct!

I love the holiday season, it’s my favourite time of the year. As I am sure many of you may have noticed, I’m quite keen on chocolate and have created quite a few chocolate treat recipes to date.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my favourite chocolate brand and one that I have used for years is Camino. They are a Canadian company owned by La Siembra Co-operative based in Ottawa (Canada’s National Capital) and the Gatineau area. I did not know they were Canadian when I first started using their products, but was delighted when I found out, as I love supporting local Canadian companies. 

Their products are ones you can feel good about on many levels, from supporting and advocating fair trade practices to supporting small-scale farmers. They use only high-quality organic ingredients, which means you are getting top-grade products that are better for health and well-being. Their products are free of a slew of allergens and many of them are gluten-free, soy lecithin-free, dairy-free, and vegan-friendly. They also use cane sugar instead of regular white sugar and use minimal ingredients without additives and preservatives. 

Camino has recently launched their new limited edition festive chocolate bars for the holiday season. I was excited to learn about their new, first-ever holiday line, as it was something I’d hoped for as a long-standing customer of their products. Needless to say, I was thrilled when they kindly gifted me these chocolate bars to try out and create this review to share with all of you. So, a big thank you to Camino for this amazing opportunity!

The beauty of these festive bars is that there is something for everyone! There is dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate! All 3 bars are gluten-free and also soy lecithin-free. They are all certified organic and kosher. One of the bars is vegan-friendly as well.

I will be breaking down this review into a few different categories with various aspects of the 3 chocolate bars.

• Packaging Design

• Description

• Taste & Flavour

• Texture

• Ways to use

So, let’s try out these lovely, festive treats, shall we?

REVIEW

PACKAGING DESIGN | ALL 3 BARS

As a Graphic Designer, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention this aspect of these bars. Simply put, I love the designs! The winter forest wonderland theme gives a holiday feel without using traditional Christmas-themed graphics. The metallic finish on certain parts of the labels adds the razzle-dazzle feel of the holidays. As with all Camino chocolate bars, these too are packaged in environmentally conscious packaging. The wrappers are printed on acid-free paper using vegetable-based inks. The inner wrappers are biodegradable/compostable and made from wood pulp, and the outer wrappers are made of recyclable materials.

CRANBERRY, ORANGE, GINGER ZING | DARK CHOCOLATE

DESCRIPTION

This chocolate bar uses 65% dark chocolate with tiny pieces of tart cranberry and hints of bright orange, and a gentle hit of ginger.

TASTE & FLAVOUR

If you are a fan of dark chocolate, you will surely love this chocolate bar! The dark chocolate flavour is a beautiful balance between the bitter, earthy taste of the dark chocolate and the bright tart notes from the cranberry pieces and bright hint of citrus from the orange. Lastly, you get a little zing from the ginger, creating a harmonious blend of festive flavours.

• Gluten-free • Soy lecithin-free • Vegan-friendly • Dairy-free • Certified organic • Fairtrade certified • Certified kosher 

TEXTURE

It has a smooth texture without being too chalky, which can sometimes be the case with dark chocolate. The cranberry pieces are a pleasant surprise in each bite that creates a nice balance with the flavour and texture.

WAYS TO USE

Camino recommends enjoying this bar with a hot cup of tea or at the end of a nice meal. I think it would also be a welcome addition to your holiday baking: cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and endless possibilities.

CRISPY GINGERBREAD SPICE | MILK CHOCOLATE

DESCRIPTION

This chocolate bar uses 37% milk chocolate with airy cocoa crisps, creating a lovely crunchy texture. Paired with flavourful warming spices, it’s perfect for the holiday season.

TASTE & FLAVOUR

Say hello to this bar, my milk chocolate-loving friends! It’s one you are sure to enjoy. Along with the creaminess of the milk chocolate, the gingerbread spices are upfront and centre. You also get a scattering of ground hazelnuts throughout the bar adding to the crunch factor. Your taste buds are greeted with warming spices—ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. I definitely felt the hit of the ginger and cardamom most prominently, but the blend of spices works so well together. It feels warm and comforting, like eating a gingerbread cookie fresh out of the oven.

• Gluten-free • Soy lecithin-free • Certified organic • Fairtrade certified • Certified kosher 

TEXTURE

It has a lovely silky milk texture that melts in your mouth. It reminded me of hot chocolate, so luscious and creamy. Then you feel the contrast with the light cocoa crisps, and ground hazelnuts creating a delightful blend of creamy and crunchy.

WAYS TO USE

I think this bar would be a great addition for creating your holiday goodies like chocolate chip cookies, brownies, scones, cakes. There are so many other options.

WHITE COCOA CRUNCH | WHITE CHOCOLATE

DESCRIPTION

This white chocolate bar reimagines your childhood “Cookies & Cream” chocolate in a whole new way. The tiny whisps of cocoa and chocolate chips are enveloped in silky, white chocolate making for a delightful bite.

TASTE & FLAVOUR

Now for my white chocolate lovers, you are definitely in for a special treat with this bar. The white chocolate is not overly sweet (which I feel can often be the case with most white chocolate). It is just the right amount of sweetness and is wonderfully balanced with the cocoa bits and chocolate chips, creating a luscious white chocolate dream.

• Gluten-free • Soy lecithin-free • Certified organic • Fairtrade certified • Certified kosher 

TEXTURE

The white chocolate is silky smooth with the little cocoa bits that create a nice crunch. The contrast makes for a tasty bite of white chocolatey goodness.

WAYS TO USE

This bar can be thoroughly enjoyed on its own or added to your favourite holiday-baked treats such as cookies, no bake cheesecakes, and cupcakes, and so much more.

FINAL VERDICT

I honestly loved all 3 of them. Each has its own unique taste and characteristics, but all encompassed the feel of the festive season with its flavour. The Cranberry Orange Ginger Zing is great for anyone who likes dark chocolate paired with bright, fruity undertones. The Crispy Gingerbread Spice is lovely for anyone who likes creamy milk chocolate paired with warming spices. Lastly, the White Cocoa Crunch is the perfect match for anyone who wants velvety white chocolate with little chocolate bits to create a beautiful balance. So no matter your preference, you are sure to find a bar that you will fancy!

Now if I had to pick a favourite which is certainly not easy, I would have to say the one that tugged my heartstrings just a little more is the White Cocoa Crunch.

I have a soft spot for white chocolate and have loved it since I was a child, particularly “Cookies & Cream”. This bar brought back all those lovely memories.  So, kudos to Camino for recreating my childhood chocolate dream. 

SWEET TREAT FOR THE HOLIDAYS

So, give them a try and see which one is your favourite. I am confident you are bound to find one (or all) that you’ll enjoy. They are also perfect as a gift topper, stocking stuffers and host gifts, or even a gift for yourself. So, go ahead, have some chocolate and kick off the holidays in a sweet way :).

Enjoy!

The post Camino’s Festive Chocolate Bars – Review first appeared on Pure Sprinkles.